Six Rockland County, NY, municipalities recently announced they are launching a cost-cutting program to provide their residents and small businesses with more affordable, locally sourced renewable power. The initiative will be offered through Rockland Community Power (RCP), a collaborative program that enables residents and small businesses to purchase renewable energy at a fixed cost that is lower than they have paid historically for standard, non-renewable energy. The participating communities—the Town of Clarkstown, Village of Haverstraw, Village of Nyack, Town of Orangetown, Village of South Nyack and Village of Upper Nyack—are working in partnership with Joule Community Power (Joule) to offer the program that is scheduled to launch on Nov. 1, 2020. Joule will serve as the Program Administrator.
RCP empowers the participating communities, though community choice aggregation (CCA or community choice), to leverage the collective buying power of their residents and small businesses at large enough scale to dictate the terms of how they buy electricity. Five of the six communities chose to default residents to a 100% renewable electricity product at a fixed and lower price that is less than they otherwise would pay for their standard supply, which is typically a mix of energy derived from fossil fuel and nuclear sources. Orangetown chose to maximize savings for residents by defaulting them to the RCP standard option at a still lower fixed price. Orangetown residents, however, have the option to cede a portion of their potential savings by switching to the 100% renewable option. Residents and businesses in the other communities may also change their supply option or opt out of the program.
CCA is promoted by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) as a priority climate action. These programs have cut costs for consumers and provide stronger consumer protection. The RCP community choice program is under the oversight of the New York State Public Service Commission.
"This program is the result of a competitive procurement process," said Mike Gordon, Joule's Chief Executive Officer. "The partnership of communities selected Constellation NewEnergy as their default supplier because they were offered a unique combination of competitive pricing, consumer protection and 100% renewable power."
Eligible residents and small businesses will be automatically enrolled in the RCP community choice program but may opt out, at any time, with no penalty. ORU remains responsible for delivery, repair, and billing services for all participants. Prior to program launch, eligible ORU customers will receive a letter from their local government, with a return address of Constellation NewEnergy—that will include information on how to opt out of the program. To learn more, visit rocklandcommunitypower.com.